For Better, or For Worse?
by Undisclosed
Summary: There is commotion in the manor as Piper and Phoebe start to relive Prue's memories, and Paige finds her life changing alarmingly quickly. Will these changes be for better, or for worse? Part 4: Paige meets the Elders. ON HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

Paige Matthews woke up feeling unusually rested. This was a boon in itself, as baby Chris and Wyatt were keeping her up all night long. Stretching out, she glanced at the alarm clock.

"Damn it," she cursed and darted out of bed. Piper was going to kill her – Paige had promised Piper that she would help her with the P3 inventory. Normally, Paige avoided organisation like the plague, but she wanted to spend some quality time with Piper. However, Paige didn't think that being an hour late would speed up the sisterly bonding process.

Paige orbed downstairs in the kitchen, even though Piper frowned upon using magic in the house for non-serious, non-magical reasons. However, Paige felt that it was serious enough – anything to avoid being blown up by Piper for tardiness.

Paige rummaged through the cupboards for cereal, but all she could find was granola, Leo's favourite, and baby formula. She shuddered, wondering how Leo could stand eating what tasted to Paige like horse feed. Giving up, Paige took out the carton of milk and drank two glasses of it. She made a mental note to stock up on cereal bars – she didn't want to have to starve.

"Ooh, Chris, you're so delicious, aren't you, my sweet little boy?" Paige heard Phoebe cooing over Piper's 3 month old son. "I could just eat you up with a spoon, you know that?"

Paige peeked into the sunroom and saw Phoebe playing with Chris. Wyatt, jealous of the attention Chris was getting, orbed into Phoebe's arms. Phoebe smiled at this, and hugged the boys so hard that Paige felt that their eyes would pop out. She then set Wyatt back in his pen, and went about changing Chris' nappy.

"Chris, you have your auntie Prue's eyes, you know that?" Paige froze. She had never heard Piper or Phoebe talk about Prue in many months. Phoebe continued, more wistfully, "Your aunt had the same telekinesis as you will, and she hurt very bad demons very badly, as you also will. She would have loved to see you and Wyatt. See, this is what Prue looked like." Phoebe went to a side table and picked up a picture of Prue hugging Piper, in P3. "Can you say hi to Prue?" Phoebe gently picked up Chris' arm and made a waving motion.

Paige orbed back into her bedroom, slightly unsettled. It was extremely odd to hear Phoebe talk about Prue so much – she hadn't been mentioned at all, at least in front of Paige, for many months. Now Paige started wondering whether Piper and Phoebe were deliberately hiding the fact that they were remembering Prue, because they didn't want Paige to know.

Paige shook herself out of her reverie, certain that she was blowing things out of proportion. Yet a nagging doubt still lingered, a doubt that she squelched forcefully. She went back to looking through her cupboard.

"Ugh, ugh, yick, boring, ew, yuck, gross," Paige threw out every piece of clothing as she rummaged through her cupboard – either they were crumpled, or dirty, or just plain hideous. Even though she was going to seriously tick Piper off, there was nothing wrong with wanting to look good.

Paige's fingers connected with a box at the back of the cupboard. Wondering what it was, she opened it and grinned. At least she could now look presentable. Now all she had to was get to P3... and face Piper's wrath.

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"Where the hell is Paige?" grumbled Piper Halliwell, shaking back her long brown hair. Ever since she and Leo had made it official that they would stay together, she had been neglecting the club, and she needed Paige's help to restore it. Piper momentarily allowed herself to think about hers and Leo's situation. Although he was still an Elder and had to go Up There frequently, Piper didn't mind... too much. Back down on Earth, however, Piper still had a whole club to bring back into shape. Piper was cleaning the bar when a loud jingle caught her ear. She looked up in annoyance and froze.

Despite Paige's bright red hair (pulled back into a high ponytail), Paige looked like the spitting image of Prue. She was wearing one of Prue's favourite outfits – light brown trousers, black boots, brown leather jacket and a multi-coloured halter top, with all the matching accessories. Although Piper had thought about Prue often, seeing Paige in that outfit brought back all the memories.

"Sorry I'm late," apologised Paige, walking down the stairs and stumbling, just like Prue had done when she had first worn the boots. "The damn alarm clock didn't ring. Anyway, I'm here and ready to work!" When Piper didn't respond, Paige looked at her and saw disbelief all over Piper's face. "Is something wrong Piper?"

"No... no, don't be silly, Paige," Piper finally replied. "I was just thinking about... well, never mind. Um, could you bring out the glasses for me?" Paige was still unconvinced, but decided not to push it.

Hours later, P3 was finally back to Piper's spit-and-polish standards. Piper, however, was still miles away. Every time her eyes laid on Paige, Piper kept thinking about how Prue had worn that same outfit each time she got to photograph a young, handsome male, and it invariably got him chasing after her. Phoebe had jokingly knighted it "The Male Magnet".

It was apparent that even now, it had the same effect on men. Brian, one of the bartenders who had dropped in to help, had been flirting non-stop with Paige the whole day. Looking at her, Piper felt bad – the whole idea was to spend some time with Paige, but instead Piper had been avoiding her. She felt really silly about making a big deal – so what if Paige wore Prue's clothes? She may not have realised whose they were. Still, Piper couldn't stop the memories running through her mind – Prue whinging about her braces, helping Prue and Andy sneak up to Prue's room, Prue leading the trio to fight a demon or warlock...

"A penny for your thoughts," chirped a voice. Piper looked up and saw Phoebe smiling brightly.

"Phoebe! What are you doing here?" Piper gave her sister a hug. "Aren't you supposed to be on a date with Jason?"

"Yes, but that was a lunch date, and it's 5pm now," Phoebe said amusedly. She couldn't stop smiling now that Jason had finally accepted the fact that she was a witch. Although things weren't back to normal, Jason was not scared anymore. Now, Phoebe felt that she could be less guarded around him, even though he was still in the dark about much of her Wiccan past. "Anyway, before you changed the subject, what were you thinking about?"

Piper shifted uncomfortably. "Nothing important, really."

"Piper Halliwell, your powers may kick butt but your lying certainly doesn't. Now will you tell me what was bugging you or do I have to drag -" Phoebe stopped suddenly as she saw Paige. "Oh."

"Yes, oh," said Piper. "Seeing Paige in Prue's favourite clothes has just... brought back all these memories, you know? I –" She stopped as she saw Paige coming towards them.

"Hey Pheebs," Paige greeted her cheerfully, and then stopped short as she saw the exact same expression on Phoebe's face as Piper had. She now felt unsettled – what had she done wrong? Paige decided to have it out. "Okay, why do you and Piper look at me as if you've seen a ghost? Wait, bad analogy." She was babbling now out of nervousness.

"What!" cried Phoebe. "Don't be ridiculous!"

"Phoebe, you took a little too long to answer. Something is definitely up. Don't keep me in the dark here."

Phoebe and Piper looked at each other. Finally, Piper said reluctantly, "It's just... well, it's not a big deal really, I mean... okay, what I mean to say is that, um, the clothes you're wearing..."

"Yeah?" Paige asked warily.

"That was Prue's favourite outfit that you're wearing now," Phoebe finished off for Piper. "Wait, that sounded really insensitive-"

"No, it's okay. I understand," Paige interrupted softly. "I should have asked you guys. I would have never worn them if I'd known..." She trailed off, not knowing what to say. There was an awkward silence. Both Phoebe and Piper were avoiding looking at Paige, which did not help ease the tension. Finally Paige broke the silence, "Well, I'd better get going. I... forgot that I was supposed to meet a friend. Ciao!" She hurriedly orbed out. Piper and Phoebe looked at each other guiltily.

Back in her room, Paige collapsed onto her bed. She could feel all the old insecurities coming back. Ever since Barbas had trapped her in her own fears, she had been fighting to conquer her fears. She felt that she had been successful, but today at P3 was threatening to undo all that she had worked for.

Paige rolled onto her side and curled up. She didn't need a premonition to know that she had opened up a can of worms, putting her relationship with her sisters on the line.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N – While writing this chapter, I knew what was going to happen at the end of Season 6, which doesn't quite finish in the same way that is described in the story. However, I decided to go along with what I wanted to do, so if some events aren't mentioned, or have been changed, it's my doing.  
  
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"Paige. Paige!"  
  
Paige whined, "No! Ten more minutes." She rolled over and cuddled up to Slappy, her old bedtime toy. However, the person calling her was apparently not paying attention, for the bedclothes were suddenly whipped off her.  
  
"Hey!" Paige was indignant. "What did I do to you?" She rubbed her eyes and saw Leo, in his Elder robes. "Leo, couldn't it wait just a bit? And why are you wearing that god-awful robe?"  
  
Leo grinned. "So maybe I should go tell the Elders that you're not interested in getting a charge."  
  
Paige bolted upright. "Are you serious, Leo?" she asked excitedly. She darted out of bed and threw herself on him, hugging him so hard that he was breathless.  
  
Leo wormed out of Paige's suffocating hug. "Yes, I'm serious. With Chris gone, and the whole Gideon situation having created chaos Up There, we're short of white lighters, and there are many charges without anyone to look out for them. We need you to help us."  
  
"Is this a temporary assignment, or permanent? How many charges will I have?" Paige called out from the bathroom.  
  
"I can't say at the moment. It's too soon to tell. Of course, you're also a witch, so we can't give you many charges, otherwise we'll distract you from your Wiccan duties. Get ready quickly – the Elders want to talk to you first."  
  
Paige bounced in, dressed in a black off-the-shoulder top with a long denim skirt and boots. "How do I look?" she asked, suddenly nervous, smoothing down her hair, which she'd left loose. She stopped. "Wait, maybe I should wear something a bit more formal. I mean –"  
  
Leo cut her off. "Paige, you look fine. You're not going to be judged on your ability to look good."  
  
"OK, then." She exhaled loudly. "Let's go." Paige said impatiently.  
  
Leo gave her a long look, and finally asked, "Don't you want to tell Piper and Phoebe first? They'd want to know." "Yeah, well, they'll find out if they want to," she responded, surprised by how bitter she sounded. "Let's go, already."  
  
"Paige, what's wrong?" Leo sat down on the bed and pulled her down as well, so they sat side by side.  
  
"It's nothing, really." She shrugged. "It's just that when I was helping Piper, I had come in wearing what was apparently Prue's favourite outfit. I mean, they weren't angry or anything, it's just that they treated me like I was her ghost." She smiled sadly. "I guess that it might have brought back all the memories for them. It's also been happening more and more, Piper and Phoebe thinking and talking about Prue. Like yesterday morning, I went downstairs to get breakfast and I heard Phoebe talking to Wyatt and Chris about how much Prue would have liked to have seen them. "  
  
Leo looked at Paige. "Paige, you're not telling me the full story. C'mon, spill."  
  
Paige chuckled at Leo's perceptiveness. "Basically, what unsettled me is that the way they were acting around me was practically how it was when I first met them, you know? They were treating me as if they didn't want to offend me, as if I was made of glass and I would break if they said or did the wrong thing. And maybe I'm being paranoid, but I just feel as if this isn't going to be the last time it happens. Do you remember when Barbas trapped us in the manor, how I was feeling about not being able to live up to Prue?" Leo nodded. "Well, lately I've been feeling like that..."  
  
Leo gave Paige a surprised look. "Paige, your sisters love you for being you, not for being the third Charmed one or for any other reason. You are different to Prue, but that's what makes you unique. That one incident yesterday shouldn't make you feel insecure or unsure."  
  
Paige stood up. "Leo, in case you don't remember, when I first met them, they had barely been through the grieving process fully. Then, there was the Source, Phoebe's marriage and pregnancy, Cole's vanquish, Piper's pregnancy, getting rid of Cole again, Wyatt, Chris, then your Elder situation and the Gideon mess. Basically, they've barely had time to actually get over Prue properly. I know it's been three years, but believe me, I know how important it is to be able to say the final goodbye. After my parents' deaths, I spent months not going out, just reliving all the memories. Then slowly life started to look worth living. It took me a year to grieve properly and only then could I actually go back to their graves and properly say goodbye. But Piper and Phoebe never got to do so. Even when Piper turned into a Fury, she hadn't finished grieving – she'd merely let out her anger, but the grief was still there, like it was with Phoebe. There just wasn't the time"  
  
Paige paused to take a breath. "Look, I have no problem with them going finishing the grieving. But I'm just scared of how it's going to affect us. I don't want to be the medium through which they see Prue, like yesterday. I don't want our relationship to regress to the same way it was 3 years ago. And I know that it's inevitable that, without any evil or innocents to keep them busy, they'll start to remember Prue more and more. I also know that it will be a lot harder, for me, to see them go through all the stages as a close sister than as a sister who barely knew them. Most importantly, I know that I can't do anything to tell them how I feel about all this – it's not appropriate, and it isn't fair to them."  
  
Paige was now pacing up and down restlessly. "Leo, I'm not worried about not being like Prue, because I'm not. I may be the third Charmed one, but I still have powers different to Prue. What I'm scared of is that Piper and Phoebe will start to see Prue in me, and not Paige. I mean, Phoebe herself told me that the reason she was drawn to me at Prue's funeral was because I reminded her so much of Prue. If I started to inadvertently remind them of things Prue did, and then I shattered that image, I don't think that I could handle it."  
  
Leo wanted to say something, but he knew that now was not the time. Instead, he pulled Paige into a tight hug. After a few seconds, Paige looked up at him, slightly misty-eyed. "Let's get going."  
  
Paige held out her hand. She could probably have orbed Up There on her own, but she wasn't sure if she really could – she had always been too cautious to try. After scribbling a quick note to Phoebe and Piper telling them where Paige would be, and leaving it on her bedside table, Leo took her hand and they orbed out. 


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N – In Episode 6.19 – "Crimes and Witch Demeanours", Phoebe lost her powers (premonition, levitation and empathy), and didn't get them back in the remaining four episodes. However, for the purpose of my story, Phoebe got back the power of premonition a few weeks after Chris was born.  
  
The reference to Zeus is from the Charmed Book "Soul of the Bride."_  
  
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"Piper!"  
  
At the sound of Phoebe's call, Piper looked up from P3's account books and saw her sister running in to the living room. "Oh, damn," muttered Piper. Piper knew that look on Phoebe's face – it meant that a demon was on the way.  
  
"Which demon is it now?" Piper asked, more than slightly annoyed. Chris and Wyatt had been hard to handle in the morning and Piper had not had a moment's peace. Finally they had gone to sleep, and only now was Piper able to relax a bit more.  
  
"It's a dragon warlock. I had a premonition that he would blink in here about..." Suddenly a tall, well-built warlock blinked in. "...now," finished Phoebe. Piper threw up her hands and quickly froze him. She was thankful that he hadn't blinked out when she was throwing out the freeze.  
  
"Now, where the hell is Paige?" Phoebe wondered. "We need the power of three to vanquish him."  
  
"Well, we'll have to make do with the power of two," Piper replied. "Paige and Leo orbed out somewhere on white lighter business."  
  
"That's not good," Phoebe said.  
  
"You think?" Piper pondered over the possible solutions. They had about half a minute before the warlock would unfreeze. Suddenly she got an idea. "Phoebe, you remember when I went up to meet Zeus and Prue needed the power of three to bring me back, but only she was at home?" Phoebe nodded. "Well, she used two things that we cherished as our essences. Maybe if we use something like that to give us the third power, it might work."  
  
"Err, Piper?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"I think that the freeze is wearing off!"  
  
Piper whipped around and saw the warlock starting to break through the freeze. Before she could freeze him again, he blinked out and re- materialised in between Piper and Phoebe. He shot flames at both women, and they both dived down.  
  
"Piper, have you found anything?" Phoebe called desperately.  
  
"No, you keep looking." Piper called back. "Hey, Dragon boy!" The warlock took his eyes off Phoebe and glared at Piper. "Yeah, you!" She threw up her hands and blew him up. His pieces were flying around the room. "Phoebe, I can't keep doing this! Just get any damn thing and bring it over now!"  
  
Phoebe looked around wildly and grabbed a familiar photograph of all three women standing close together from the side table. She didn't have time to rethink her choice – the warlock had now fully come back together. Phoebe ran over to Piper, shouting, "Got it!" Piper held on to the photograph with Phoebe, and the two chanted repeatedly:  
  
"The power of three will set us free."  
  
The warlock shouted out as a swirling vortex encompassed him and twisted him around. He yelled out in pain as Piper and Phoebe kept repeating the chant. Finally, he blew up into several pieces and disappeared.  
  
Phoebe shook out her dark, silky hair and retied it into a bun. "All in a day's work for us, eh Piper?" she said laughingly. However, Piper was anything but cheerful – her face had a very sombre look.  
  
"Phoebe?"  
  
"Yes, sweetie?" Phoebe was unsettled by the look on Piper's face.  
  
"Pheebs, what made you pick up this photograph?"  
  
Phoebe was surprised at this question. "Piper, does it really matter?"  
  
"Yes, it does."  
  
"Piper, I just picked up the one with the three of us. I know that it wasn't specifically Paige's, but I thought that it would have enough sisterly connections to provide the Power of Three. Why so many questions?"  
  
Wordlessly, Piper held up the photo. It was one taken outside the manor one sunny afternoon sometime back – Phoebe with her short brown hair on the right, Piper on the left, and in the centre... Prue.

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_Due to the evils of exams, I probably won't be updating this story for a month or so. I also have a case of writer's block. Any further suggestions/improvements would also be very helpful. Thanks :)_


	4. Chapter 4

A/N - I am aware that Season 6 ended with Leo not being an Elder any more. Again, just a little liberty that I've taken.  
  
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"Wow," whispered Paige in awe. She had always heard Leo talk about going "Up There", but she had never really registered it as a place that actually existed. From what Piper and Phoebe had told her from their experience of coming here (the one time they had had a chance to remember), she had managed to paint a hazy picture of what it would be like, but her expectations didn't come anywhere near to what the real thing was like.  
  
Paige looked around her as she followed Leo, striding to keep up with his pace. All around her, Elders and White lighters were conversing in hushed tones. The Elders wore brilliant gold robes, much like the ones she teased Leo for wearing, and white lighters wore similar ones in a cream colour. Paige smiled wryly at the obvious display of hierarchy. There were some young men and women wearing ordinary clothes like she was, and Paige assumed that they were white lighters not too worried about sticking to a dress code.  
  
Paige felt as if she was gliding on air rather than walking. The clouds and mist were so thick at her feet that she could barely see past her knees. She prayed that there wouldn't be a sudden hole through which she could drop. Paige distracted herself from these unsettling thoughts and instead looked up above her. She couldn't tell whether there was an end to the space above her, but what she could discern was something that resembled the blanket of clouds exactly like the one at her feet, not revealing whether there was anything beyond. The whole area around her was brightly lit, but Paige couldn't tell where the light was coming from. It was so dazzling as to hurt the eyes, but at the same time dim enough so that she could see normally. This astonished her to such an extent that she didn't even realise it when she had reached the Elder's council.  
  
Tall pillars with intricate etchings formed an oval around a large area. Paige looked up again, only to see a ceiling on which there were carvings, which seemed to move and change shape. Back on the 'ground', there were several steps between each of the pillars, on which some Elders were sitting. They were chatting to each other in what Piper liked to call "White lighter-ese" – a fast and rapid language that was full of clicks, clacks and other un-formable sounds. Paige hoped to God that she wouldn't have to master that language.  
  
At the sound of Leo and Paige approaching, the Elders ceased talking and fixed their eyes on Paige. She couldn't read their expressions at all – they showed no emotion or feeling on their faces. To Paige, it seemed that the stone pillars were more welcoming. As she looked around, she set eyes on one familiar Elder – a boy of about 17 years old with shaggy brown hair. This was Kevin – he had inherited the powers of foresight from an Elder named Ramus nearly two years back. Even though Elders and White lighters didn't technically age, Kevin was definitely a lot more tall and muscular than he had been two years ago. As he made eye contact with Paige, he gave her a comforting grin. Somehow, this relaxed her immensely.  
  
Leo announced, "This is Paige Matthews. Paige, these are the Elders." Leo rattled off a series of about twenty names, some of them unpronounceable. Paige nodded and smiled, hoping that she wouldn't have to address them by name anytime.  
  
A tall, thin Elder with greying hair spoke. "Paige, we're very happy that you have volunteered to help us. However, from your past experience, you'll know that being a white lighter is not an easy job." Paige nodded again, and then cleared her throat. "Sir," she began.  
  
"Please call me Nathaniel." He smiled, the second Elder to do so. Paige thought that she saw a couple of Elders looking disapproving, as if the invitation by Nathaniel was too informal.  
  
"Nathaniel," Paige corrected herself. "I know that being a white lighter isn't the easiest job in the world. But as a witch, saving an innocent is a priority for me, and as a white lighter, so will saving a charge."  
  
Another Elder, a younger black one, said seriously, "With all due respect Paige, some of us were opposed to you becoming a white lighter, mainly because you don't have the full powers. You may be able to orb and glamour, but your sensing power isn't fully developed, and you can't heal. This means that you'll have to work twice as hard as any other full white lighter. If you are confident that you can do so, and keep up with your duties as a witch, then I suppose that I can't object." A slight grin crossed his face.  
  
Leo spoke up, "I can definitely vouch for Paige's dedication and determination."  
  
"So can I," agreed Kevin. Paige flashed a quick smile of thanks at him, and then at Leo.  
  
Paige asked, "How can I heal my charge if he or she is hurt?  
  
Nathaniel replied, "We're aware that your white lighter, Chris, has gone back to the future. We've agreed to let Leo stay on Earth and become the Charmed Ones' white lighter again. If you need to heal, you can call on Leo's help, but only as a last resort. Please don't abuse this help. And above all, you must not let your personal problems ever jeopardise your duties."  
  
Paige started, wondering how he knew what she was feeling. It was eerie. "I won't," Paige finally assured him fervently. She resolved to let go of all her doubts, little knowing that it would definitely not be easy.  
  
Leo spoke up, "Well, now that all the formalities have been done, I think that we should go back down. The others will want to know the news." Leo held out his hand, and Paige grasped it tightly, feeling less confident now that it was actually official. Smiling goodbye, they orbed out.  
  
One by one, the other Elders drifted back to their conversations. Nathaniel and the black Elder remained.  
  
A female Elder walked up to them. "Was that one of the Charmed Ones, Albert?" she asked, straightening her robes. The black Elder nodded. "A witch and a white lighter," she mused interestedly, "and a Charmed One on top of that. Let's hope that she can handle it." 


End file.
